US tightens visa waiver programme amid foreign fighters concerns 

The United States announced tighter security measures on Thursday for visitors from the 38 countries in its visa waiver program, which include European nations that have seen hundreds of residents traveling to fight with militant groups in Syria and Iraq. 

PHOTO: AFP

AUG 7, 20156:58 AM

[WASHINGTON] The United States announced tighter security measures on Thursday for visitors from the 38 countries in its visa waiver program, which include European nations that have seen hundreds of residents traveling to fight with militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

The changes require use of e-passports - paper passports that contain chips carrying biometric information - and expand use of US air marshals on international flights, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Some US lawmakers have been urging tighter restrictions on the waiver program, which allows citizens from participating countries to enter the United States without a visa for stays of 90 days or less.

US Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has criticised the programme as vulnerable to abuse, calling it the "the Achilles heel" of American efforts to stave off attacks on its soil.

The US intelligence community assessed in February that more than 20,000 foreign fighters, including at least 3,400 Westerners, had traveled to the Syria-Iraq region since 2011.

Western fighters in Syria and Iraq have found some of their most willing recruits in Belgium, France and Britain, according to the International Center for the Study of Radicalization. All three participate in the visa waiver programme, as do many European countries. "The current global threat environment requires that we know more about those who travel to the United States. This includes those from countries for which we do not require a visa,"Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement announcing the changes.

The new restrictions also require that participating countries use an international database to screen for lost and stolen passports, the department said.

It said the changes build on measures taken last year to require additional information on the application people in visa waiver countries provide to travel to the United States.

The US Travel Association, an industry group, welcomed the passport security and air marshal changes but said it would evaluate other ones, including the development of passenger record databases and the screening of asylum-seekers. "Though security should always be its first principle, it is well worth keeping in mind how the American economy and job creation both benefit when the (visa waiver programme) functions well," the group's president, Roger Dow, said in a statement.

REUTERS

      

Bank of England signals early 2016 hike after sterling climb

The Bank of England pointed to a possible rise in interest rates early next year as just one of its top policymakers backed an immediate move and it said the strength of sterling meant inflation would only pick up slowly.

PHOTO: AFP

AUG 7, 20156:45 AM

[LONDON] The Bank of England pointed to a possible rise in interest rates early next year as just one of its top policymakers backed an immediate move and it said the strength of sterling meant inflation would only pick up slowly.

The pound fell sharply and investors briefly pushed back their bets on a first rate hike until June next year, before BoE Governor Mark Carney said the Bank was getting closer to beginning to undo its stimulus for Britain's economy. "The likely timing of the first Bank Rate increase is drawing closer," he told reporters. "However the exact timing of the first move cannot be predicted in advance ... in short, it will be data-dependent," he said after the BoE for the first time published its quarterly economic forecasts and details of its latest policy discussions on the same day.

The BoE slashed interest rates to 0.5 per cent in the depths of the financial crisis in 2009 and has kept them there since.

With the economy now recovering strongly and wages finally rising more quickly, speculation is growing about when it might start to wean Britain off low rates, mirroring the debate at the US Federal Reserve.

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Mr Carney warned investors that they might be too relaxed about the path, or 'curve', that they are predicting for rates.

He pointed out that the Bank was forecasting that inflation would start to overshoot its 2 percent target in just over two years' time, based on predictions in the market for a first BoE rate hike in the second quarter of next year. "The market curve does not deliver a sustainable return of inflation to target, because there is an overshoot," he said.

In an interview with the Mirror newspaper, Mr Carney declined to say there was now no chance of a rate hike in 2015. "I would be crazy to rule anything out or to rule anything in," he said.

Three weeks ago, Mr Carney said the decision when to hike interest rates would likely come into "sharper relief" around the end of the year. He emphasised on Thursday that this was his own view and that it had not changed.

Several economists said they continued to predict a rise in the first three months of 2016.

VOTE SURPRISE

Investors were taken by surprise earlier on Thursday when the Bank said just one of its nine policymakers - Ian McCafferty - had voted for a rate hike at their August meeting, which ended on Wednesday.

Most economists in a Reuters poll had expected two or even three members of the Monetary Policy Committee to vote for a rate hike. The 8-1 result prompted markets to push out their bets on a first rate hike into mid-2016.

Mr McCafferty, a non-staff member of the MPC, backed rate hikes last year along with his colleague Martin Weale. They both rejoined the fold in January as oil prices tumbled.

As Mr Carney spoke on Thursday, the bets on a June 2016 rate hike were quickly reined back in. Jason Simpson, a Societe Generale rate strategist, said: "The message is clear: rates need to rise. Not yet, but they need to go up and every inflation report is one step closer to that." Few economists think the BoE is likely to move before the Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise rates this year, in large part because it would further push up the value of sterling. On Wednesday the pound hit its highest level against a basket of currencies in more than seven years.

FOCUS ON STERLING

The Bank stressed how a recent strengthening of the pound and a renewed fall in oil prices would push down inflation until at least the middle of next year and said the impact of the rise in sterling could persist even longer.

Mr Carney made it clear, however, that a strong currency was no replacement for eventual rate hikes.

In a sign of how the debate on the MPC may develop, some of its members saw a risk that inflation could pick up more strongly than the central forecast, the BoE said.

But the Bank's array of forecasts and policy debate details suggested it was largely focused on how the stronger pound could keep a lid on inflation.

The BoE also noted that Britain's weak productivity growth was finally on the rise, which would help mute inflation even after wages grew surprisingly strongly in recent months.

REUTERS

    

The School of Life: Capitalism (Video)

The School of Life: Capitalism

2014 - 97 Minutes

Welcoming and insightful in both approach and tone, this compilation of short videos named Capitalism tackles various aspects of capitalistic ideals from a surprisingly human perspective which often borders on the psychoanalytical. Over a series of breezy and appealing vignettes, the authors set forth their overriding theories regarding the potentially detrimental symptoms of a capitalistic society.

Tackling issues ranging from wage inequality to corruptive greed to the ever widening gap between the haves and the have nots, the film argues that the healthiest form of capitalism should be of benefit to everyone collectively, and can only be achieved through a comprehensive and empathetic understanding of oneself and others.

One of the film's most astute segments is titled What's Education For?, and it charts the beginning steps on this journey of self-discovery to the modern classroom. After all, this is the forum where many first learn the ideals of capitalism. But what if our curriculum is all wrong in this regard? The film proposes that educational efforts should be more geared towards the teachings of practical life lessons such as the proper management of money, the means by which to find and nurture an ongoing career, and the basics involved in starting a business. These virtues can find strength in a complimentary plane of teaching; one that involves an investigation of the self, a discovery and definition of personal values, and exposure to the art of fostering positive and fruitful relationships.

In another provocative segment titled Against Philanthropy, the filmmakers argue for a different approach when it comes to the donations passed down by the wealthiest elite. Many of these accomplished capitalists make their fortunes in industries which serve little benefit to either the people or their environment. Then, they take the money they amassed from these efforts and distribute to various ventures like galleries and art museums across the globe. "People should stop being good in the way they distribute their money," the film's narrator instructs us during the segment. "They should try being good in the way they're making it." These business leaders should be encouraged to make more "enlightened investments", as the film refers to them, and place their funds and efforts towards redefining their own industries, allowing them to operate more responsibly for the greater good of all.

Whether articulating the motivations behind our obsessions with fame or the need to redesign the globe's major cities to be more open and interconnected than ever before, The School of Life: Capitalism contends that positive growth and change are only possible through self-reflection and examination.

Adidas mulls options for struggling golf business

German sportswear company Adidas said it had engaged an investment bank to consider options for its golf business which is struggling as the sport loses popularity, particularly in its biggest market, the United States.

PHOTO: SPH

AUG 6, 20152:17 PM

[BERLIN] German sportswear company Adidas said it had engaged an investment bank to consider options for its golf business which is struggling as the sport loses popularity, particularly in its biggest market, the United States.

Adidas said in a statement it was particularly looking at its Adams and Ashworth brands and said it also launched another round of restructuring at its TaylorMade golf brand, where sales fell a currency-adjusted 26 per cent in the second quarter.

Adidas made the comments as it reported group sales rose 15 per cent to 3.91 billion euros (S$5.9 billion) or 5 per cent excluding the impact of currencies, beating an average analyst forecast for 3.8 billion.

Net profit rose 1 per cent to 146 million euros, compared to consensus for 147 million.

REUTERS

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